8 Seconds
by arcadianpetriedish
Summary: "The world didn't end." ...But what happened after Mulder and Scully left the hospital as 1999 gave way to the year 2000? Alternate ending for "Millennium" - Written as part of the X-Files Revisited series for Octoberficfest on Tumblr.


Dana Scully, at some point, had lost count of how many times she'd sat in a hospital lounge, waiting to hear whether or not Mulder would be okay. She considered restarting the count at midnight, if she had not yet discovered his prognosis. The world outside was nervously celebrating the upcoming New Year, but for Mulder and Scully, it was just another day, another hospital; standard operating procedure, in their particular line of work.

All year, the fervor over the start of a new millennium rose, bringing every type of doomsday prophet imaginable. She couldn't turn on the television without seeing another ominous warning about everything grinding to a halt as 1999 gave way to 2000. There was even talk of apocalypse, which caused Scully's eyes to automatically roll towards the heavens, every time she heard that word.

It was almost fitting, in a way. Mulder could be considered a trendsetter. He was in the ER after he was attacked by what he swore were zombies; harbingers of this so-called apocalypse. Scully didn't believe in zombies, as it's scientifically impossible for them to even exist, but whatever it was she'd shot as it attacked Mulder _did_ sort of resemble a reanimated corpse. The room was dark, so she never got a close look; Mulder was in immediate danger, so she immediately drew her weapon and eliminated the threat. It could have been anything, really: Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, sleeping sickness, even necrotizing fasciitis, which could plausibly cause a sufferer to resemble a zombie, due to the widespread tissue death on their skin, but she relegated legitimate undead brain-eating zombies to works of fiction. She would be submitting yet another _Results Inconclusive_ summary report to Skinner in the morning. Mulder once suggested they make a fill-in-the-blank version of their reports, since so many of them ended up the same way. He'd joked that it could be called Monster Mad-Libs. She'd rolled her eyes at him, as always, though she actually thought his suggestion would be a great time saver. She assumed Skinner generally just skipped to the end.

She was startled out of her thoughts by the voice of a young girl. Frank Black's daughter, Jordan. She had not seen her father for some time, and Scully arranged a surprise visit. It was the least she could do for Frank; Mulder would be dead without his help.

She looked down at the girl.

"Where's Daddy? Jordan asked her.

Scully smiled warmly and pointed down the hall towards the doors of the waiting room. "Right through those doors, Jordan. You ready?"

Jordan almost bounced with excitement as she enthusiastically nodded.

"I need to talk to your father for a moment first," Scully said. "So wait out here for a little bit, and then you can surprise him. Can you do that?"

"Okay," Jordan agreed.

Scully entered the waiting room and immediately saw Frank Black, whose back was to her as he watched _Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve_ on the small television. She walked over and said hello.

Frank turned and greeted her. Scully let him know that Frank's former colleague, and the man responsible for Mulder's almost-demise, was taken in for psychiatric evaluation.

"Good," Frank replied, pleased.

Scully smiled. "And, um…"

Frank narrowed his eyes and shot Scully a suspicious look. "What?"

"There's someone here to see you," she replied.

The waiting room door clattered open as young Jordan burst through it. She made a beeline to her father's arms.

"Hi, Daddy!" Jordan said, hugging her father tightly.

Frank engulfed his young daughter in a close embrace. He'd waited for a moment like this, but never expected it to actually happen.

"Hi, little one! Oh, I missed you, sweetheart," Frank spoke into her hair.

Scully regarded the reunion with an almost wistful smile on her face. It brightened into one more genuine when she looked across the room and saw Mulder, his right arm bound in a sling, walking towards her.

They stood and watch the television for a moment, checking the time. Everyone was more apprehensive than they let on, given the scare they'd experienced earlier that evening. Mulder stuck his left hand out to shake Frank's.

"Frank, good luck with everything," Mulder said.

Frank nodded. "Agent Mulder, Agent Scully. I guess this is it, huh?"

Scully briefly looked surprised. "You aren't going to stay and watch?'

Frank looked down at his daughter with a mix of love and exhaustion on his face.

"No. We just want to go home. Take care of yourselves."

The agents nodded at Frank, who took Jordan's small hand in his own, and left them with a parting nod. Mulder and Scully watched him leave with his daughter, until the cheering on the television intensified, diverting their attention.

The waiting room stood empty for the time being. The staff was busy prepping areas for the influx of ER patients that would surely follow such a large New Year's celebration. The drunk ones usually managed to fall into some creative mishap or other, and everyone sought to be prepared.

Mulder and Scully stood alone in front of the television, watching the massive celebration in Times Square play out on the 13" screen. The countdown to New Year's was on; the ball steadily descending the pole to welcome in the year 2000. The crowd shouted out the final ten seconds in unison.

 _10…9…8…_

Mulder glanced at Scully.

 _7…6…5…_

Scully was staring too intently at the screen to notice.

 _4…_

Mulder looked back at the television.

 _3….2…1!_

A horn blared as Dick Clark yelled, "Happy New Year, 2000!"

"Auld Lang Syne" began to play as the cameras panned around the crowd, slowly on couples kissing and embracing to welcome in the new millennium.

Mulder again looked at Scully, who was smiling as she watched the broadcast. Faintly in the background, Mulder heard Dick Clark say, "There's no time like the present!" His heart skipped a beat.

Mulder decided his New Year's resolution in an instant. He was going to work up the nerve to tell Scully exactly what she meant to him. How many near-death experiences did he need to have before just coming clean with her once and for all? Every time he found himself in a hospital, which was often, one thing was always true: Scully was waiting for him. She really was his constant, and he didn't think he even had the words to begin to express to her how essential she was in his life.

He took in Scully's features; the curl of her hair, the slope of her nose, the impossible clear blue of her irises. She didn't notice his gaze; she was still fascinated with the party in Times Square.

 _There's no time like the present._

Mulder leaned his head closer to Scully's face. Sensing his sudden closeness, she turned to look at him. A split second later, his lips met hers. Her eyes closed automatically as her nerve endings sparked with electricity. It wasn't passionate, but it wasn't a quick peck by any means; his lips remained pressed against hers for eight full seconds, which seemed to simultaneously pass in an instant while lasting an eternity. The kiss parted and they stared blankly at each other for a quick moment before breaking into shy smiles.

Two hearts pounded so hard in two chests, they each wondered if the other could hear it.

" _She didn't slap me; that has to be a good sign,"_ he thought.

He raised a shoulder in a tiny shrug.

"The world didn't end," he offered with a hint of the boyish grin that Scully secretly loved.

She was still trying to process what had just happened. Though her face bore a half-smile, her tone was oddly flat as she replied, "No, it didn't." Scully instantly regretted her tone as she saw a quick look of fear cross Mulder's features before returning to the previous smile.

"Happy New Year, Scully," he said, trying to cover the sudden nervousness that washed over him when Scully answered him.

He hoped he hadn't just ruined his relationship with the best person he'd ever known.

"Happy New Year, Mulder," she answered, staring straight ahead. Scully tried to quiet the thousand questions running through her mind. The truth was that she was very dazed by what had just happened; she'd wanted him to do that since she could no longer remember, years, at the very least.

His expression was unreadable as he stared at her; she had never seen that particular look in his eyes. He looked at the ground and put his arm around her shoulders, turning her towards the door. He didn't see that the true feelings about the kiss were suddenly splashed across her face. Surprise and apprehension gave way to relief and anticipation. She let him guide her, wondering what the rest of the night would hold. 2000 could end up being a very good year for Dana Katherine Scully; her face flushed with the possibilities.

They were almost through the hospital's door when the fluorescent lights flickered, then shut off completely. Mulder and Scully froze in their tracks in the empty, deadly quiet waiting room. Mulder's hand clenched where it had been resting on Scully's shoulder. Two seconds later, the hospital's emergency generator kicked on, bringing with it the lights and numerous beeps and alarms from medical equipment protesting the sudden interruption.

The kiss momentarily forgotten, they stared at each other, bodies and eyes in full alert. Was this… _it?_

Mulder's arm urged Scully into motion as he propelled her towards the hospital's outer side exit. Other than the hospital's bright EMERGENCY sign at the entrance, there was nothing. The darkness was all encompassing.

"What the hell is going on?" Scully thought out loud.

"Maybe I was wrong," Mulder muttered.

He couldn't see Scully's arched eyebrow in the dark. "I'm sure it's nothing, Mulder. A poorly timed neighborhood outage, maybe? At least the hospital's generator came up immediately."

"Yeah, that's-," Mulder began, almost dismissively. He saw a light trail in the far distant darkness. "Scully, did you just see that?"

"That light? Only for a second; was it a shooting star?"

"Scully, I think that was a plane."

"It couldn't have been," Scully countered. She scanned the sky and saw nothing. The stars weren't even out that night. She saw a small red light pulse in the sky in a slow, steady fashion. It was far away from whatever it was that Mulder just saw. She pointed it out to him.

"See? Look up there, Mulder. That little red light is on a plane," Scully said, pointing towards the plane's blinking light. "It's fine."

It wasn't. As they watched, the light blinked once, then again. When the light blinked the third time, it appeared to be much lower in the sky. Once it came on a fourth time, it remained red, like a laser pointer in the sky. It continued its course for a moment, then dropped. This plane was much closer to where they were than whatever it was that Mulder saw. It hovered in place for a moment, dropped again, then began a swift free fall, nose down, rushing towards the earth. Just seconds later, a huge orange glow erupted in the spot where it fell.

"Oh, _shit_ ," they both muttered.

Scully pulled out her cell phone to dial 911. No signal.

"Mulder, is your cell phone working?" Scully asked.

Mulder checked his phone. "No, it isn't." He looked very concerned.

Scully could faintly hear sirens in the distance, lots and lots of sirens.

Mulder was torn. "Should we go back and use the hospital's phones, or just go?"

Scully nervously looked back at the hospital doors, then at Mulder's face. She felt it in the bottom of her stomach. Dread. Something was very, very wrong. She looked into the darkness.

"Mulder, have you seen any cars since we've been out here?"

"Besides the ones in the parking lot?" He thought back and realized he hadn't seen headlights or taillights on the normally busy road in front of the hospital, either. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his good hand. He closed his eyes.

"No, I haven't," he replied. "Scully, what if the Millennium Group was right? What if what happened earlier was just the beginning? It may already be too late."

"Surely that can't be what's happening," she replied unconvincingly.

Mulder took her hand. "Well, if this actually is the end," he began.

"Mulder, don't talk like that," Scully replied, stricken. She squeezed his hand tighter.

He pulled her close to him and used his good arm to hug her. Closing his eyes, he tightened his hold on her and bent down to gently kiss the top of her head. She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist in response. They stood there for a moment, each unwilling to be the first to let go.

"Scully, I just wanted to let you know that I don't regret what just happened in there." His voice was quiet, low, and full of emotion. "I hope you aren't mad or offended, or whatever. If you are, I apologize, but I've wanted to do that for so long. You are the most important person in my life, Scully."

"You thought I was mad at you? Mulder, no. _No_ , I'm not mad at you," she answered incredulously. Her voice became low and throaty, as she choked back tears and willed herself not to cry. She turned her face towards his chest and placed a small kiss there. Scully leaned her forehead against him and gently shook her head no. She managed a weak chuckle. "I've wanted you to do that, _us_ to do that, for years." She felt his body jerk at the confession.

"Why didn't you say anything?" he whispered against her hair.

"I was scared," she answered truthfully. "I never wanted to do anything to risk what we have. You're the most important person in my life, too."

"So it took the world ending for you to tell me? Dana…" He trailed off. She could feel the low rumble of a quiet laugh in his chest. "End of the world or not, I love you, Scully. I always have."

"As have I," she quietly admitted. "This can't really be the end of the world, can it?"

"I hope not. I _really_ hope not. We should probably go find out what's really happening out there, though."

Scully nodded against his chest. "I know. I just… Kiss me again, Mulder." It wasn't a question.

Mulder leaned down and kissed her like the world really was ending, and for all he knew, it really was. She matched his intensity with her own. When they finally broke, he pressed his forehead against hers; one of the original ways they'd communicated their love before actually having the words to articulate it. He smiled down at her.

"You ready, G-woman?"

She nodded. "I hope you're wrong about all of this, you know."

"I hope I am, too," he replied.

He wrapped his good arm across her shoulders again and guided her towards the parking lot, and the darkness beyond.


End file.
